Valve timing controller

ABSTRACT

A valve timing controller includes a filter having a first end plate, a middle plate, and a second end plate that are stacked in this order in the thickness direction. The first end plate is located adjacent to a driving shaft or a driven shaft, and has plural inlet holes. The second end plate is located adjacent to a check valve, and has plural outlet holes distanced from the inlet hole when seen from the thickness direction. The middle plate has plural middle holes communicated to one of the inlet holes and one of the outlet holes. The middle plate has a thickness which is smaller than a minimum opening width of the inlet holes and the outlet holes.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-83473 filed on Apr. 15, 2014, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a valve timing controller.

BACKGROUND

A hydraulic valve timing controller controls the valve timing of intake/exhaust valve of an internal combustion engine by supplying operation oil to the oil pressure chamber in the housing so as to relatively rotate the vane rotor. JP 2013-151923 A (US 2013/0192551 A1) describes a valve timing controller in which operation oil is supplied to an oil pressure chamber by an oil passage switch valve disposed at the central part of the vane rotor.

While the vane rotor is relatively rotated, if the operation oil flows backward from the oil pressure chamber to the supply passage, the responsivity to the control of the rotation phase of the vane rotor is lowered. JP 2013-151923 A describes a check valve arranged in the supply passage so as to restrict the operation oil from flowing backward from the oil pressure chamber to the supply passage.

An internal combustion engine has a cartridge filter to catch a foreign substance contained in operation oil pumped by an oil pump. However, minute foreign substance which cannot be caught by the cartridge filter or a foreign substance located downstream of the cartridge filter may affect the check valve.

Another filter may be disposed upstream of the check valve to catch a foreign substance more minute than the cartridge filter.

The another filter may be made of a punching mesh which can be formed by press processing at low cost. However, if minute holes are produced for catching the minute foreign substance which cannot be caught by the cartridge filter, it is difficult to punch the holes with high density at once in order to reduce the pressure loss that is caused by the throttling in the oil passage, considering the strength of the press punch.

SUMMARY

It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a valve timing controller having a filter which is easily manufactured by press processing.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a valve timing controller includes a housing, a vane rotor, and a passage switch valve. The housing is integrally rotatable with one of a driving shaft and a driven shaft of an internal combustion engine. The vane rotor is arranged in the housing to be integrally rotatable with the other of the driving shaft and the driven shaft. The vane rotor has a second supply passage that is able to communicate with a first supply passage located outside. The passage switch valve has an advance port communicated to an advance chamber defined by the vane rotor in the housing, a retard port communicated to a retard chamber defined by the vane rotor in the housing, and a supply port communicated to the second supply passage.

The valve timing controller further has a check valve and a filter. The check valve is arranged inside the vane rotor or between the vane rotor and the other of the driving shaft and the driven shaft. The check valve allows operation oil to flow from the first supply passage to the supply port and prohibits operation oil from flowing to the first supply passage from the supply port. The filter is arranged between the check valve and the other of the driving shaft and the driven shaft.

The filter has a first end plate, a middle plate, and a second end plate that are stacked with each other in the thickness direction. The first end plate is located adjacent to the other of the driving shaft and the driven shaft, and has a plurality of inlet holes communicated to the first supply passage. The second end plate is located adjacent to the check valve, and has a plurality of outlet holes communicated to the second supply passage and distanced from the inlet hole when seen from the thickness direction. The middle plate is located between the first end plate and the second end plate, and has a plurality of middle holes communicated to the inlet hole and the outlet hole. The middle plate has a thickness which is smaller than a minimum opening width of the inlet hole and the outlet hole.

Accordingly, a passage can be formed in the filter from the inlet hole through the middle hole to the outlet hole. A minute passage part where the passage is made narrow is defined, at a middle part in the passage, by the side surface of the first end plate adjacent to the middle plate, the side surface of the second end plate adjacent to the middle plate, and the inner wall surface of the middle hole. The passage width of the minute passage part is equal to the thickness of the middle plate, and is narrower than the minimum opening width of the inlet hole and the outlet hole. Therefore, while the inlet hole, the middle hole, and the outlet hole are produced by press processing, the passage narrower than the holes produced by the press processing can be provided. That is, the holes generated by the press processing do not need to be minute enough for catching a minute foreign substance which cannot be caught by a cartridge filter. Therefore, the filter can be easily manufactured by press processing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description made with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view illustrating a valve timing controller according to a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line II-II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of an area III of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a first metal plate of a stacked part of a vane rotor of the valve timing controller;

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a second metal plate of the stacked part of the vane rotor of the valve timing controller;

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a third metal plate of the stacked part of the vane rotor of the valve timing controller;

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a fourth metal plate of the stacked part of the vane rotor of the valve timing controller;

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a fifth metal plate of the stacked part of the vane rotor of the valve timing controller;

FIG. 9 is a view illustrating a sixth metal plate of the stacked part of the vane rotor of the valve timing controller;

FIG. 10 is a view illustrating a seventh metal plate of the stacked part of the vane rotor of the valve timing controller;

FIG. 11 is a view illustrating an eighth metal plate of the stacked part of the vane rotor of the valve timing controller;

FIG. 12 is a view illustrating a ninth metal plate of the stacked part of the vane rotor of the valve timing controller;

FIG. 13 is a view illustrating a tenth metal plate of the stacked part of the vane rotor of the valve timing controller;

FIG. 14 is a view illustrating an eleventh metal plate of the stacked part of the vane rotor of the valve timing controller;

FIG. 15 is a view illustrating a twelfth metal plate of the stacked part of the vane rotor of the valve timing controller;

FIG. 16 is an enlarged view illustrating a first passage of a supply passage of the stacked part in the cross-section taken along a line XVI-XVI of FIG. 1;

FIG. 17 is a cross-section view taken along a line XVII-XVII of FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is an enlarged view illustrating a second passage of the supply passage of the stacked part in the cross-section taken along a line XVIII-XVIII of FIG. 1;

FIG. 19 is a cross-section view taken along a line XIX-XIX of FIG. 18;

FIG. 20 is a view illustrating a tenth metal plate of a stacked part of a vane rotor of a valve timing controller according to a second embodiment;

FIG. 21 is a view illustrating a twelfth metal plate of the stacked part of the vane rotor of the valve timing controller of the second embodiment;

FIG. 22 is a view illustrating a tenth metal plate of a stacked part of a vane rotor of a valve timing controller according to a third embodiment;

FIG. 23 is a view illustrating an eleventh metal plate of the stacked part of the vane rotor of the valve timing controller of the third embodiment;

FIG. 24 is a view illustrating a twelfth metal plate of the stacked part of the vane rotor of the valve timing controller of the third embodiment;

FIG. 25 is a cross-section view illustrating a part of a filter corresponding to a first passage of a supply passage, of a valve timing controller according to a fourth embodiment; and

FIG. 26 is a cross-section view illustrating a part of the filter corresponding to a second passage of the supply passage, of the valve timing controller of the fourth embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described hereafter referring to drawings. In the embodiments, a part that corresponds to a matter described in a preceding embodiment may be assigned with the same reference numeral, and redundant explanation for the part may be omitted. When only a part of a configuration is described in an embodiment, another preceding embodiment may be applied to the other parts of the configuration. The parts may be combined even if it is not explicitly described that the parts can be combined. The embodiments may be partially combined even if it is not explicitly described that the embodiments can be combined, provided there is no harm in the combination.

First Embodiment

A valve timing controller 5 according to a first embodiment is shown in FIG. 1. The valve timing controller 5 relatively rotates a camshaft 202 relative to a crankshaft 201 of an internal combustion engine 200 such that the valve timing of intake valve (not shown) driven to open and close by the camshaft 202 is controlled. The valve timing controller 5 is disposed in a power train system in which a driving force is transmitted from the crankshaft 201 to the camshaft 202. The crankshaft 201 may correspond to a driving shaft, and the camshaft 202 may correspond to a driven shaft.

The valve timing controller 5 is explained with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the valve timing controller 5 includes a housing 10, a vane rotor 20, and an oil passage switch valve 30.

The housing 10 has a case 11 and a sprocket 12. The case 11 has a cup shape and has plural projection parts 13 projected inward in the radial direction. The projection parts 13 are arranged to be distanced from each other in the circumferential direction.

The sprocket 12 is arranged at the open end of the case 11, and has a hole 14 through which the camshaft 202 passes. The sprocket 12 is connected to the crankshaft 201 through a timing chain 203 engaged with outer teeth 15, and is able to be rotated integrally with the crankshaft 201. The case 11 and the sprocket 12 are coaxially arranged as the camshaft 202, and are fixed to each other at plural positions in the circumferential direction integrally with the bolt 16.

The vane rotor 20 is arranged inside of the housing 10, i.e., the inner side of the case 11, and has a boss 21 and plural vanes 22. The boss 21 is fixed to the camshaft 202 with a sleeve bolt 31, and the boss 21 is able to rotate integrally with the camshaft 202.

The vane 22 is projected outward in the radial direction from the boss 21, and divides the interior space of the housing 10, i.e., the space between the projection parts 13 of the case 11, into the advance chamber 23 and the retard chamber 24. The retard chamber 24 is located on one side of the vane 22 in a rotational direction, and the advance chamber 23 is located on the other side of the vane 22 in the rotational direction. A clearance between the advance chamber 23 and the retard chamber 24 is sealed by a seal component 25 arranged at the tip end of the projection part 13 of the case 11 and a seal component 26 arranged at the tip end of the vane 22, in the radial direction between the housing 10 and the vane rotor 20.

The vane rotor 20 has an advance oil passage 27, a retard oil passage 28, and a supply oil passage 29. The advance oil passage 27 is communicated to the advance chamber 23, and is connected and opened on the inner wall surface of the boss 21. The retard oil passage 28 is communicated to the retard chamber 24, and is connected and opened on the inner wall surface of the boss 21. The supply oil passage 29 is communicated to an oil pump 206 which is an external oil supply source through a supply oil passage 204 of the camshaft 202 and a supply oil passage 205 of, for example, engine block, and is connected and opened on the inner wall surface of the boss 21.

The supply oil passage 204 of the camshaft 202 corresponds to a first supply passage, and the supply oil passage 29 of the vane rotor 20 corresponds to a second supply passage.

The vane rotor 20 is relatively rotated relative to the housing 10 by receiving the pressure of operation oil supplied to the advance chamber 23 or the retard chamber 24, such that the rotation phase of the vane rotor 20 relative to the housing 10 is controlled to the advance side or the retard side.

The oil passage switch valve 30 includes the sleeve bolt 31 and the spool 32. The sleeve bolt 31 is inserted to the vane rotor 20 from the opposite side opposite from the camshaft 202 through the vane rotor 20, and is further thrust into the camshaft 202. The sleeve bolt 31 has a sleeve 35 located inside the vane rotor 20 in the section between the head 33 and the screw part 34.

The sleeve 35 has a cylindrical shape extending in the axial direction and located at the central part of the vane rotor 20. The sleeve 35 has an advance port 36 communicated to the advance oil passage 27, a retard port 37 communicated to the retard oil passage 28, and a supply port 38 communicated to the supply oil passage 29. In this embodiment, the sleeve 35 has annular grooves 41, 42, 43 arranged in this order in the axial direction. The advance port 36, the supply port 38, and the retard port 37 are respectively connected and opened on the bottom surfaces of the annular grooves 41, 42, 43.

The spool 32 is able to reciprocate in both-way in the axial direction on the inner side of the sleeve 35, and the ports 36, 38, 37 of the sleeve 35 are selectively connected by the spool 32 according to the axial position. Specifically, when the rotation phase of the vane rotor 20 relative to the housing 10 is changed to the advance side, the spool 32 connects the supply port 38 and the advance port 36 with each other, and makes the retard port 37 to connect to an external drain space through the inner side of the spool 32. When the rotation phase of the vane rotor 20 relative to the housing 10 is changed to the retard side, the spool 32 connects the supply port 38 and the retard port 37 with each other, and makes the advance port 36 to connect to an external drain space through the outer side of the spool 32.

The stopper plate 44 is inserted and fitted into the inner opening of the head 33 of the sleeve bolt 31, and the spool 32 is biased by the spring 45 toward the stopper plate 44. The axial position of the spool 32 is determined by balance between the biasing force of the spring 45 and the pressing force of the linear solenoid 46 arranged on the opposite side of the spool 32 through the stopper plate 44.

When the rotation phase is positioned on the retard side from a target phase, the supply oil passage 29 and the advance chamber 23 are connected to each other by the oil passage switch valve 30, and the retard chamber 24 is connected to the external drain space. Operation oil is supplied to the advance chamber 23, and operation oil is discharged from the retard chamber 24, such that the vane rotor 20 is relatively rotated on the advance side relative to the housing 10.

When the rotation phase is positioned on the advance side from a target phase, the supply oil passage 29 and the retard chamber 24 are connected to each other by the oil passage switch valve 30, and the advance chamber 23 is connected to the external drain space. Operation oil is supplied to the retard chamber 24, and is discharged from the advance chamber 23, such that the vane rotor 20 is relatively rotated on the retard side relative to the housing 10.

When the rotation phase is in agreement with a target phase, the advance chamber 23 and the retard chamber 24 are closed by the oil passage switch valve 30, thereby holding the rotation phase.

The valve timing controller 5 is further explained with reference to FIGS. 2-19. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the vane rotor 20 has a stacked part 50 and a mold part 51. The stacked part 50 has a cylindrical shape including metal plates stacked (layered) with each other in the axial direction. The mold part 51 molds the outer wall surface of the stacked part 50 to form four of the vanes 22. The stacked part 50 may correspond to a stacked object.

As shown in FIG. 2, the stacked part 50 has a receiving hole 53 in which the lock pin 52 is arranged, three press-fit holes 55 in which the regulation pin 54 is pressingly fitted, and a fitting hole 56 to which the sleeve 35 is fitted. In this embodiment, the receiving hole 53 and the three of the press-fit holes 55 have the same inside diameter, and are arranged at equal interval in the circumferential direction.

The lock pin 52 is able to be fitted to a blind hole (not shown) of the sprocket 12. The rotation phase of the vane rotor 20 relative to the housing 10 is locked by the lock pin 52 that is fitted to the blind hole. The regulation pin 54 is inserted into a circular long hole (not shown) of the case 11 and the sprocket 12. The regulation pin 54 regulates a change in the rotation phase within a range from a position at which the pin 54 is in contact with one end of the long hole to a position at which the pin 54 is in contact with the other end of the long hole.

As shown in FIG. 3, the stacked part 50 has the metal plate 61, the metal plate 62, the metal plate 63, the metal plate 64, the metal plate 65, the metal plate 66, the metal plate 67, the metal plate 68, the metal plate 69, the metal plate 67, the metal plate 70, the metal plate 71, the metal plate 72, and the metal plate 67 stacked in this order in the axial direction.

Hereafter, when not distinguishing the metal plates 61-72 in particular, the metal plates 61-72 are indicated just as metal plate. “Outer side” means the outer side of the stacked part 50 in the radial direction, and “inner side” means the inner side of the stacked part 50 in the radial direction.

As shown in FIG. 4, the metal plate 61 has the receiving hole 53, three of the press-fit holes 55, and four of the first retard cutouts 73 recessed from the outer edge to extend inward. The first retard cutout 73 corresponds to a part of the retard oil passage 28.

As shown in FIG. 5, the metal plate 62 has the receiving hole 53, three of the press-fit holes 55, and four of the retard through holes 74 corresponding to a part of the retard oil passage 28. The retard through hole 74 is defined at the position corresponding to the inner end of the first retard cutout 73 when seen from the thickness direction.

As shown in FIG. 6, the metal plate 63 has the receiving hole 53, three of the press-fit holes 55, and four of the second retard cutouts 75 recessed from the inner edge to extend outward. The second retard cutout 75 corresponds to a part of the retard oil passage 28. The outer end of the second retard cutout 75 is located at the position corresponding to the retard through hole 74 when seen from the axial direction.

As shown in FIG. 7, the metal plate 64 has the receiving hole 53 and three of the press-fit holes 55.

As shown in FIG. 8, the metal plate 65 has the receiving hole 53, three of the press-fit holes 55, and two of supply cutouts 76 recessed from the inner edge to extend outward. The supply cutout 76 corresponds to a part of the supply oil passage 29.

As shown in FIG. 9, the metal plate 66 has the receiving hole 53, three of the press-fit holes 55, two of supply cutouts 76, and two of the circumferential cutouts 77 extending from the supply cutout 76 in the circumferential direction.

Furthermore, the metal plate 66 has two of the reed valves 78 extending from the edge of the circumferential cutout 77 into the supply cutout 76. The reed valve 78 is able to open and close the supply through hole 79 of the metal plate 67.

When the reed valve 78 receives the flow of operation oil flowing from the supply oil passage 204, the reed valve 78 is distorted toward the metal plate 65 to open the supply through hole 79 of the metal plate 67, such that operation oil is allowed to flow from the supply oil passage 204 to the supply port 38. When the reed valve 78 receives the flow of operation oil flowing from the supply port 38, the reed valve 78 is returned to the original position and closes the supply through hole 79 of the metal plate 67, such that operation oil is prohibited from flowing to the supply oil passage 204 from the supply port 38. The reed valve 78 may correspond to a check valve.

As shown in FIG. 10, the metal plate 67 has the receiving hole 53, three of the press-fit holes 55, and two of the supply through holes 79 corresponding to a part of the supply oil passage 29. The supply through hole 79 is defined at a position corresponding to the outer end of the supply cutout 76 when seen from the thickness direction, and at the position at which the supply through hole 79 can be closed by the tip end part of the reed valve 78.

As shown in FIG. 11, the metal plate 68 has the receiving hole 53, three of the press-fit holes 55, and four of the first advance cutouts 81 recessed from the outer edge to extend inward. The first advance cutout 81 corresponds to a part of the advance oil passage 27.

As shown in FIG. 12, the metal plate 69 has the receiving hole 53, three of the press-fit holes 55, and four of the second advance cutouts 82 recessed from the inner edge to extend outward. The second advance cutout 82 corresponds to a part of the advance oil passage 27. The outer end of the second advance cutout 82 is defined at the position corresponding to the inner end of the first advance cutout 81 when seen from the axial direction.

As shown in FIG. 13, the metal plate 72 has the receiving hole 53, three of the press-fit holes 55, and plural inlet holes 83, 84 which are through holes communicated to the supply oil passage 29 and communicated to the supply oil passage 204 through the supply oil passage 29. The inlet holes 83, 84 are rectangle-shaped long holes extending in a predetermined direction. The inlet hole 83 is formed at the position corresponding to the first passage 291 of the supply oil passage 29 of the stacked part 50. The inlet hole 84 is formed at the position corresponding to the second passage 292 of the supply oil passage 29 of the stacked part 50.

As shown in FIG. 14, the metal plate 70 has the receiving hole 53, three of the press-fit holes 55, and plural outlet holes 85, 86 which are through holes communicated to the supply oil passage 29. The outlet holes 85, 86 are rectangle-shaped long holes extending in the same direction as the inlet holes 83, 84.

As shown in FIG. 16, the outlet hole 85 is located at a position corresponding to the first passage 291 and is distanced from the inlet hole 83 when seen from the thickness direction.

As shown in FIG. 18, the outlet hole 86 is located at a position corresponding to the second passage 292, and is distanced from the inlet hole 84 when seen from the thickness direction.

As shown in FIG. 3, the metal plate 71 is interposed between the metal plate 70 and the metal plate 72. As shown in FIG. 15, the metal plate 71 has the receiving hole 53, three of the press-fit holes 55, and plural middle holes 87, 88. The middle holes 87, 88 are rectangle-shaped long holes extending in the same direction as the inlet holes 83, 84.

As shown in FIG. 16, the middle hole 87 is located at the position overlapping with one of the inlet holes 83 and one of the outlet holes 85 when seen from the thickness direction. As shown in FIG. 17, the middle hole 87 connects the one of the inlet holes 83 and the one of the outlet holes 85 to each other.

As shown in FIG. 18, the middle hole 88 is located at the position overlapping with one of the inlet holes 84 and one of the outlet holes 86 when seen from the thickness direction. As shown in FIG. 19, the middle hole 88 connects the one of the inlet holes 84 and the one of the outlet holes 86 to each other.

The metal plate 70, the metal plate 71 and the metal plate 72 construct the filter 90 that catches a foreign substance contained in operation oil flowing through the supply oil passage 29. The metal plate 72 may correspond to a first end plate and the metal plate 70 may correspond to a second end plate. The metal plate 71 may correspond to a middle plate. As shown in FIG. 17 and FIG. 19, the filter 90 has the passage 91 extended from the inlet hole 83, 84 through the middle hole 87, 88 to the outlet hole 85, 86.

The passage 91 has a minute passage part 92 at the middle part of the passage 91, and the passage width is made smaller in the minute passage part 92 than the other part of the passage 91. The minute passage part 92 is defined by the side surface of the metal plate 72, the side surface of the metal plate 70, and the inner wall surface of the middle hole 87, 88 of the metal plate 71. The passage width W1 of the minute passage part 92 is equal to the thickness t1 of the metal plate 71. The thickness t1 of the metal plate 71 is smaller than the minimum opening width W2 of the inlet hole 83, 84 and the outlet hole 85, 86. In this embodiment, for example, the minimum opening width W2 is 0.6 mm, and the thickness t1 is 0.2 mm. Moreover, the metal plate 70 and the metal plate 72 have the same thickness as the metal plate 71. The thickness t1 is set as 0.2 mm which is the upper limit of a foreign substance which can be received between the spool 32 and the sleeve 35 in the passage switch valve 30. The filter 90 is located immediately upstream of the reed valve 78, and can catch a foreign substance more minute than a cartridge filter that is disposed in the internal combustion engine 200.

In case where the metal plate 72 of FIG. 13 is rotated by 180 degrees around the axial center AX1, the outer edge of the metal plate 70 and the outer edge of the metal plate 72 correspond to each other, and the inlet hole 83, 84 and the outlet hole 86, 85 correspond to each other when seen from the thickness direction. That is, the metal plate 72 and the metal plate 70 are the same component having the same structure.

According to the first embodiment, the valve timing controller 5 includes the reed valve 78 and the filter 90. The reed valve 78 is arranged inside of the vane rotor 20 to allow operation oil to flow from the supply oil passage 204 to the supply port 38 and to prohibit operation oil from flowing to the supply oil passage 204 from the supply port 38. The filter 90 is disposed between the reed valve 78 and the camshaft 202.

The filter 90 is made of the metal plate 70, the metal plate 71 and the metal plate 72 stacked with each other in the thickness direction. The metal plate 72 is located adjacent to the camshaft 202, and has the plural inlet holes 83, 84 communicated to the supply oil passage 29. The metal plate 70 is located adjacent to the reed valve 78, and has the plural outlet holes 85, 86 distanced from the inlet holes 83, 84 when seen from the thickness direction. The metal plate 71 is interposed between the metal plate 70 and the metal plate 72, and has the middle hole 87, 88 which connects one of the inlet holes 83 to one of the outlet holes 85. The thickness t1 of the metal plate 71 is small compared with the minimum opening width W2 of the inlet holes 83, 84 and the outlet holes 85, 86.

Thus, the passage 91 is defined in the filter 90 to extend from the inlet hole 83, 84 to the outlet hole 85, 86 through the middle hole 87, 88. The passage width W1 of the minute passage part 92 formed at the middle of the passage 91 is equal to the thickness t1 of the metal plate 71, and is smaller than the minimum opening width W2 of the inlet holes 83, 84 and the outlet holes 85, 86. Therefore, the passage narrower than the holes produced by the press processing can be provided while the inlet hole 83, 84, the middle hole 87, 88, and the outlet hole 85, 86 are generated by the press processing. That is, the holes produced by the press processing do not need to be minute sufficiently for catching a minute foreign substance which cannot be caught with the cartridge filter. Therefore, the filter 90 can be easily manufactured by the press processing.

In the first embodiment, the inlet holes 83, 84, the outlet holes 85, 86 and the middle holes 87, 88 are long holes extending in the predetermined direction.

Therefore, the strength of the press punch corresponding to the holes 83-88 can be raised, and the productivity can be improved.

In the first embodiment, in case where the metal plate 72 is rotated by 180 degrees around the axial center AX1, the outer edge of the metal plate 70 and the outer edge of the metal plate 72 are in agreement and the inlet holes 83, 84 and the outlet holes 86, 85 are in agreement when seen from the thickness direction. That is, the metal plate 72 and the metal plate 70 are the same components. Therefore, the kinds of components for producing the filter 90 can be reduced and the filter 90 can be manufactured at low cost. Moreover, the number of dies for the press processing can be reduced, and the productivity can be improved.

In the first embodiment, the vane rotor 20 has the stacked part 50 constructed by the plural metal plates 61-72 stacked in the axial direction. The metal plates 70, 71 and 72 constructing the filter 90 are included in the plural metal plates 61-72 constructing the stacked part 50. Therefore, the filter 90 can be easily incorporated into the vane rotor 20.

Second Embodiment

A valve timing controller according to a second embodiment is explained with reference to FIG. 20 and FIG. 21. In the second embodiment, the filter 100 has the metal plate 101 shown in FIG. 20, the metal plate 102 shown in FIG. 21, and the metal plate 71 interposed between the metal plate 101 and the metal plate 102. As shown in FIG. 20, the metal plate 101 has plural through holes 103, 104 in addition to the inlet holes 83, 84 of the metal plate 72 in the first embodiment.

In case where the metal plate 101 is reversed relative to an orthogonal axis AX2 that is perpendicular to the axial center AX1, the holes 103, 104 correspond to the outlet holes 85, 86 of the metal plate 70 in the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 21, the metal plate 102 has plural through holes 105, 106 in addition to the outlet holes 85, 86 of the metal plate 70 in the first embodiment.

In case where the metal plate 102 is reversed relative to an orthogonal axis AX3 that is perpendicular to the axial center AX1, the holes 105, 106 correspond to the inlet holes 83, 84 of the metal plate 72 in the first embodiment.

According to the second embodiment, the holes 103-106 produced by press processing do not need to be minute enough for catching a minute foreign substance which cannot be caught with a cartridge filter. Therefore, the filter 100 can be easily manufactured by press processing similarly to the first embodiment.

In the second embodiment, in case where the metal plate 101 is reversed relative to the orthogonal axis AX2, the outer edge of the metal plate 101 and the outer edge of the metal plate 102 are in agreement and the holes 83, 84, 103, 104 and the holes 105, 106, 85, 86 are in agreement when seen from the thickness direction. That is, the metal plate 101 and the metal plate 102 are the same components. Therefore, the kinds of components for producing the filter 100 can be reduced, and the filter 100 can be manufactured at low cost. Moreover, the number of dies for press processing can be reduced, and the productivity is improved.

Third Embodiment

A valve timing controller according to a third embodiment is explained with reference to FIG. 22, FIG. 23, and FIG. 24. In the third embodiment, the filter 110 has the metal plate 111 shown in FIG. 22, the metal plate 112 shown in FIG. 23, and the metal plate 113 shown in FIG. 24. The metal plate 113 is interposed between the metal plate 111 and the metal plate 112.

As shown in FIG. 22, the metal plate 111 has the through holes 114, 115 in addition to the inlet holes 83, 84 of the metal plate 72 in the first embodiment. In case where the metal plate 111 is rotated around the axial center AX1 by 90 degrees in the clockwise direction, the holes 114, 115 correspond to the middle holes 87, 88 of the metal plate 71 in the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 23, the metal plate 112 has the through holes 114, 115 in addition to the outlet holes 85, 86 of the metal plate 70 in the first embodiment. In case where the metal plate 112 is rotated around the axial center AX1 by 270 degrees in the clockwise direction, the holes 114, 115 correspond to the middle holes 87, 88 of the metal plate 71 in the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 24, the metal plate 113 has the through holes 116, 117 in addition to the middle holes 87, 88 of the metal plate 71 in the first embodiment. In case where the metal plate 113 is rotated around the axial center AX1 by 90 degrees in the clockwise direction, the holes 116, 117 correspond to the inlet holes 83, 84 of the metal plate 72 in the first embodiment.

According to the third embodiment, the holes 114-117 produced by press processing do not need to be minute enough for catching a minute foreign substance which cannot be caught with a cartridge filter. Therefore, the filter 110 can be easily manufactured by press processing similarly to the first embodiment.

In the third embodiment, if the metal plate 111 is rotated in the clockwise direction around the axis AX1 by 90 degrees, the outer edge of the metal plate 111 and the outer edge of the metal plate 113 are in agreement and the holes 83, 84, 114, 115 and the holes 116, 117, 87, 88 are in agreement when seen from the thickness direction.

If the metal plate 112 is rotated in the clockwise direction around the axis AX1 by 180 degrees, the outer edge of the metal plate 111 and the outer edge of the metal plate 112 are in agreement and the holes 83, 84, 114, 115 and the holes 85, 86, 114, 115 are in agreement when seen from the thickness direction.

That is, the metal plates 111, 112, 113 are the same components.

Therefore, the filter 110 can be manufactured from one kind of metal plate at low cost. Moreover, the number of dies for press processing can be reduced, and the productivity is improved.

Fourth Embodiment

A valve timing controller according to a fourth embodiment is explained with reference to FIG. 25 and FIG. 26. In the fourth embodiment, the filter 120 includes the metal plate 72, the metal plate 70, and the metal plates 121 and 122 interposed between the metal plate 72 and the metal plate 70. The metal plates 121 and 122 correspond to a middle plate.

The metal plate 121 has plural middle holes 123, 124. The metal plate 122 has plural middle holes 125, 126. The middle holes 123-126 are rectangle-shaped long holes extending in the same direction as the inlet holes 83, 84. As shown in FIG. 25, the middle hole 123, 125 is formed at the position corresponding to the first passage 291 of the supply passage 29. The middle hole 123 overlaps with one inlet hole 83 when seen from the thickness direction, and is formed at the position distanced from the outlet hole 85. The middle hole 125 overlaps with one outlet hole 85 and overlaps with a part of the one middle hole 123, and is formed at the position distanced from the inlet hole 83, when seen from the thickness direction.

As shown in FIG. 26, the middle hole 124, 126 is formed at the position corresponding to the second passage 292 of the supply passage 29. The middle hole 124 overlaps with one inlet hole 84 when seen from the thickness, and is formed at the position distanced from the outlet hole 86. The middle hole 126 overlaps with one outlet hole 86 and overlaps with a part of the one middle hole 124, and is formed at the position distanced from the inlet hole 84, when seen from the thickness direction.

As shown in FIG. 25 and FIG. 26, the passage 127 is formed in the filter 120 and extends from the inlet hole 83, 84 to the outlet hole 85, 86 through the middle hole 123-126. At the middle of the passage 127, the minute passage parts 128 and 129 are formed in this order from the inlet hole 83, 84. The passage width W3 of the minute passage part 128 is equal to the thickness t2 of the metal plate 121, and the passage width W1 of the minute passage part 129 is equal to the thickness t1 of the metal plate 122. The thickness t1 and the thickness t2 are smaller than the minimum opening width W2. The thickness t1 is smaller than the thickness t2. In this embodiment, for example, the minimum opening width W2 is 0.6 mm, the thickness t2 is 0.3 mm, and the thickness t1 is 0.2 mm.

According to the fourth embodiment, the holes 123-126 produced by press processing do not need to be minute enough for catching a minute foreign substance which cannot be caught with the cartridge filter. Therefore, the filter 120 can be easily manufactured by press processing similarly to the first embodiment.

According to the fourth embodiment, the two metal plates 121 and 122 are arranged between the metal plate 72 and the metal plate 70. The middle hole 123 overlaps with a part of the middle hole 125, and the middle hole 124 overlaps with a part of the middle hole 126, when seen from the thickness direction. The thickness of the metal plate 122 located adjacent to the outlet hole 85, 86 is smaller than that of the metal plate 121 located adjacent to the inlet hole 83, 84.

Thereby, the minute passage parts 128 and 129 are formed at the middle of the passage 127 in which the passage width becomes narrower in this order.

Therefore, comparatively large foreign substance can be caught in the minute passage part 128, and a comparatively small foreign substance can be caught in the minute passage part 129. Thus, clogging generated in the filter 120 can be reduced.

Other Embodiment

In other embodiment, a filter may be disposed between a vane rotor and a camshaft. The metal plates constructing a filter may have shapes different from each other. The minimum opening width of the inlet hole and the outlet hole is not limited to 0.6 mm. The inlet hole, the outlet hole, and the middle hole are not limited to have the rectangle shape. The inlet hole, the outlet hole, and the middle hole may have polygon shape such as parallelogram, trapezoid, or triangle, or may have circular shape or ellipse shape.

In other embodiment, the shape of the inlet hole may be different from that of the outlet hole. A vane rotor may be constructed by only the stacked part not having the mold part. The receiving hole may have inside diameter different from that of the press-fit hole. The receiving hole and the press-fit hole may be arranged with non-regular intervals in the circumferential direction. The valve timing controller may control the valve timing of the exhaust valve of an internal combustion engine.

Such changes and modifications are to be understood as being within the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A valve timing controller arranged in a power train system in which a driving force is transmitted from a driving shaft to a driven shaft of an internal combustion engine to control valve timing of a valve driven to open and close by the driven shaft, the valve timing controller comprising: a housing that is integrally rotatable with one of the driving shaft and the driven shaft; a vane rotor arranged in the housing and integrally rotatable with the other of the driving shaft and the driven shaft, the vane rotor having a vane which divides an interior space of the housing into an advance chamber and a retard chamber, an advance passage communicated to the advance chamber, a retard passage communicated to the retard chamber, and a second supply passage that is able to communicate with a first supply passage located outside; a passage switch valve arranged at a central part of the vane rotor to define an advance port communicated to the advance passage, a retard port communicated to the retard passage, and a supply port communicated to the second supply passage, the passage switch valve connecting the supply port and the advance port with each other when the vane rotor is rotated relative to the housing on advance side and connecting the supply port and the retard port when the vane rotor is rotated relative to the housing on retard side; a check valve arranged inside the vane rotor or between the vane rotor and the other of the driving shaft and the driven shaft, the check valve allowing operation oil to flow from the first supply passage to the supply port and prohibiting operation oil from flowing to the first supply passage from the supply port; and a filter arranged between the check valve and the other of the driving shaft and the driven shaft, the filter has a first end plate, a middle plate, and a second end plate that are stacked with each other in a thickness direction, the first end plate is located adjacent to the other of the driving shaft and the driven shaft, and has a plurality of inlet holes communicated to the first supply passage, the second end plate is located adjacent to the check valve, and has a plurality of outlet holes communicated to the second supply passage and distanced from the inlet hole when seen from the thickness direction, the middle plate is located between the first end plate and the second end plate, and has a plurality of middle holes communicated to one of the inlet holes and one of the outlet holes, and the middle plate has a thickness which is smaller than a minimum opening width of the inlet hole and the outlet hole.
 2. The valve timing controller according to claim 1, wherein the middle plate is one of a plurality of middle plates, a middle hole of one of the middle plates is overlapped with a middle hole of another of the middle plates when seen from the thickness direction, and the middle plates have thicknesses which are made to become smaller toward the second end plate.
 3. The valve timing controller according to claim 1, wherein the first end plate has a shape corresponding to the second end plate when seen from the thickness direction in case where the first end plate is rotated around an axial center of the vane rotor by a predetermined angle.
 4. The valve timing controller according to claim 1, wherein the first end plate has a shape corresponding to the second end plate when seen from the thickness direction in case where the first end plate is made reversed relative to an orthogonal axis that is perpendicular to an axial center of the vane rotor.
 5. The valve timing controller according to claim 1, wherein the first end plate has a shape corresponding to the middle plate when seen from the thickness direction in case where the first end plate is rotated around an axial center of the vane rotor by a predetermined angle.
 6. The valve timing controller according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the vane rotor is made of a stacked object in which a plurality of metal plates are stacked with each other in an axial direction, and the first plate, the middle plate, and the second plate are included in the stacked object. 